home cookin’ on the range

from chow to wild West races, the chuck wagon still holds texans’ fascination.

Fire Up! The aroma of sizzling Text & Photographs by Julia Robinson pork permeates the predawn darkness at the National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration in Lubbock. 52 texashighways.com | March 2015 t’s bumper-to-bumper in Weatherford, 2005, Governor Rick Perry signed a Senate resolution desig- Cates are sorting through their chuck box, removing any mod- and most everyone is smiling. Traffic nating the chuck wagon as the official vehicle of , ensur- ern cooking implements or ingredients that will cost them moves at a crawl around the court- ing the legacy for generations to come. points in the judging. Sue and Jean grew up in Channing with house, its picturesque red cupolas For a literal taste of that history, I head to the Lubbock Memo- a chuck-wagon cook for a father. In 1992, the pair became the reaching into an azure sky. Jay Pat- rial Civic Center on a September weekend for the National Cow- first all-female team to win the Heritage Classic Cook- ton stands up from his spring-wagon boy Symposium, where a dozen chuck wagons form a horseshoe off in Abilene. They went on to win the American Cowboy Cul- seat greeting everyone within shout- in a park across from the center. It’s before dawn on the day of the ture Award and were named chuck wagon of the year by the ing distance: “Howdy! Didn’t I see you cooking competition, and the glow of cook fires welcomes visi- Academy of Western Artists, and later published three chuck- Ihere last year?” Westbound drivers lean out of their windows tors as the aromas of coffee and bacon rise in a warm draft. Far- wagon cookbooks. With their signature aprons and black hats, snapping photos, waving to the eastbound lanes as a quarter- ris Hightower is in charge of feeding the volunteers this morn- the pair talks recipes and “war stories” as they prepare their mile-long line of heritage wagons moseys down US 180, their ing. The biscuits are cooking in a Dutch oven on hot coals, and wagon for competition. canvas tops and wooden wheels a wonderful anachronism. he gives them a gentle quarter-turn every few minutes, ensuring Visitors to the fairgrounds stop in to take pictures and chat Gridlock has never felt so joyous as the Wagon a light-brown crown and a fluffy white center. with the competitors, who flit about in a constant buzz of ac- Train drives through town on its way to the annual gathering A few wagons down, sisters Sue Cunningham and Jean tivity. Each is part historian, quick to share the details of his at the Fort Worth Stockyards for a long weekend of music, , , and one of the larg- est chuck-wagon cook-offs in the state. An iconic image from the Old West, the chuck In 2005, wagon still holds Texans’ fascination 150 years Governor after it first rolled across the plains. There are year-round cookouts and cook-offs, trail rides, and, Rick Perry in true Texas fashion, competitions to see who has signed a the fastest chuck wagon in the West. senate Cattleman is credited with resolution the creation of that first chuck wagon in 1866, designating when he outfitted a Studebaker military wagon the chuck to feed his team of 20 men driving 2,000 head of cattle on the trail from Texas to . wagon as The Studebaker’s steel axles were sturdy enough the official to survive the trail. Goodnight added a chuck vehicle box with drawers for food supplies and a lid that of Texas. folded down into a worktable. The boot, a storage space under the chuck box, carried the Dutch ovens and other kitchen utensils, and a wooden barrel with two days’ supply of water was strapped to the side of the wagon with other tools and spare parts. A dried cowhide hung below the wagon box transported firewood, and when wood became scarce on the trail, cow chips from the herd were dried in this “possum belly” to provide fuel for the cook’s fire. Trailblazers From the mid-1860s to the 1880s, more than 10 million head From top: Michael and of cattle walked the trails from Texas to markets in Kansas, Cyndi Stein lead the Missouri, Colorado, and Wyoming. For the two to five months 2014 Red Steagall the men spent on the trail, the chuck wagon was their “home Wagon Train and Trail on the range.” Their bedrolls and personal belongings traveled Ride on the way to the in the wagon, all of their meals were served from the chuck Fort Worth Stockyards; box, and they socialized around the cook fire. The chuck wagon cook-off wagons must meet caught on with other outfits, and by 1884 Studebaker offered criteria for authenticity the “Round Up” model, a wagon created specifically for ranch in every detail; Glenn life and trail drives with Goodnight’s original additions. Moreland sets up his trail By the late 1880s, the railroad had eclipsed the trail as the wagon for competition most profitable way to move cattle to market. Despite its brief at Lubbock’s National life, just 20 years, the cross-country cattle drive has remained Cowboy Symposium an enduring image of the American West—so much so that in & Celebration.

54 texashighways.com | March 2015 Hey, Cookie! or her wagon and the era, and part chef, attending to the fires Farris Hightower and authentic pots, cast-iron pans, and ingredients that chuck- prepares a hearty wagon cooks used in the Old West. breakfast for event Camp competitors are scored on the authenticity of every- volunteers at the thing—the wheels “wooden and in drivable condition,” chuck National Cowboy box made of “regular lumber (no plywood),” cookware of “cop- Symposium & per, brass, graniteware, and cast iron,” flatware of “old Ger- Celebration. man or nickel silver, steel, or steel with wood or bone handles,” tools including a “heavy hammer, single bit axe, a two-man crosscut saw or bow saw, a brace and bits, and a drawing knife,” bedrolls that “must be canvas,” and the overall appearance of their camp, including the fire trenches dug with period shovels. At the Lubbock event, cooking contestants are issued the ingredients for the different categories of foods that will be judged in the competition—meat, beans, potatoes, bread, and dessert. Teams of four use only their chuck-wagon camp tools to prepare lunch for 50 people, including judging samples, en- suring a delicious meal for visitors who pur- Cooking and chase a meal ticket. As the judges deliberate, I devour a meal of historical chicken-fried steak, red potatoes, gravy, bread, authenticity beans, and a sweet peach cobbler so tasty that are just I consider a second serving. Some of the com- the tip of petitors here run Old West catering businesses the iceberg from their chuck wagons during the rest of the in chuck- year, and their expertise is evident in the ap- preciative yums and groans of pleasure from wagon my dining companions. competitions, After the results are in, I return to Sue and however. Jean’s camp. They’re happy with a win in beans and dessert and a second place overall, but are always striving to be the champions. Their disappoint- ment is tempered by the promise of another accolade coming up in a few weeks, when they will be inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth. Cooking and historical authenticity are just the tip of the ice- berg in chuck-wagon competitions, however. Almost from the time of their invention, chuck wagons were pitted against each other in that grand tradition of naming the fastest in the West. Cookies, as the cooks were nicknamed, might face off for the entertainment of their crews during a big roundup, but these days the stakes are higher and the speeds much faster than anything they could have imagined in the 1800s. On a chilly spring day last March I drove through the gen- tly rolling piney hills of Anderson County toward Palestine, in the northeast corner of the state. Every year around Texas

Web Chuck-wagon recipes at Extra texashighways.com/webextra

56 texashighways.com | March 2015 March 2015 | texashighways.com 57 Independence Day, the Diamond B Ranch hosts the 1836 Lubbock Race, where teams from across the country race Jacksboro Fort Worth against each other for bragging rights and prizes, creating one Neches of the more entertaining spectacles a Texan can witness. There are five size divisions of chuck-wagon racing—Okla- homa Land Rush, Four Up Mules, Buckboard, Big Mules, and chuck wagons Classic—each with different requirements for the size of the in texas wagon, the team, and the race track. Wagons drive at break- Find more information on the topic from neck speeds around an open course, vying to be the first across the American Chuck Wagon Association, the finish line. But this is no simple drag race. Each chuck- www.americanchuckwagon.org and the Texas Association, wagon team—usually a cook and driver and a team of horses www.tcwra.com. Following is information and/or mules—has an outrider who must load a “stove” (a small for events in the story. box with a rope loop on it) into the wagon at the sound of the starting gun. The cook must load up a “tent” (a rolled-up towel). The 1836 Chuckwagon Race will be held As the wagon teams take off, the outriders mount their horses Mar. 1-8, 2015, at the Diamond B Ranch, 11589 FM 321, in Neches. Call 903/721-9111;

essentials www.1836chuckwagonrace.com. What The Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering & started Western Swing Festival includes a Wagon Train and Trail Ride, which travels from 150 years Jacksboro to the Fort Worth Stockyards, ago as a on Oct. 18-22, 2015. The Cowboy Gathering & practical Chuck Wagon Competition will be held Oct. 23-25, 2015, at the Fort Worth Stockyards (the invention parade of chuck wagons participating in the has found a cook-off takes place Oct. 23). Call 817/444- permanent 5502; www.redsteagallcowboygathering.com. place in the The National Cowboy Symposium & national Celebration will be held Sep. 11-13, 2015, in psyche out Lubbock. Call 806/798-7825; www.cowboy.org. of love for Other chuck-wagon events include the Texas Cowboy Reunion in Stamford in July, www. a bygone tcrrodeo.com; the Col. Charles Goodnight era. Chuckwagon Cookoff in Clarendon in Sep- tember, www.saintsroostmuseum.com/events/ chuckwagon-cookoff; and the Llano River and must cross the finish line ahead of Chuck Wagon Cook-Off in October, their speeding wagon teams for a qual- www.llanochuckwagoncookoff.com. ifying time. As horses and mules top Among the museums in Texas that have speeds close to 30 mph, outriders have chuck wagons on display are the Panhandle- to hustle. Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Spectators at the Diamond B watch boy-mounted shooting to round out competition would have made Charles Dust-Flying Excitement www.panhandleplains.org; the National from the sidelines wrapped in blankets the family-friendly weekend on their Goodnight smile. What started 150 Facing page and above: Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, and smiles. Dirt and dust fly up from four sprawling property. An Army veteran, years ago as a practical invention has Among the crowd- http://nrhc.ttu.edu.; the Museum of South wagon teams as they pivot around a bar- recently returned from Afghanistan, found a permanent place in the national pleasers at last year’s Texas History in Edinburg, www.mosthistory. rel and take off at a dead run to the loop rides his first bucking bronc in front of psyche out of love for a bygone era. ★ 1836 Chuckwagon Race, org; the Briscoe Western Art Museum in the middle of the track. Drivers yell the crowd. Despite the light drizzle, vis- the Derrick Hands II in San Antonio, www.briscoemuseum.org; the Buggy Barn Museum in Blanco, www. and whoop for a little more get-up from itors to the Diamond B cheer from be- Photojournalist Julia Robinson says that wagon takes the lead buggybarnmuseum.com; and The Museum the mules. Some blast air horns. Cheers neath umbrellas and ponchos as he fans most of her stories are excuses to seek in the Oklahoma Land of Western Art in Kerrville, www.museum rise up as an outrider makes a last-sec- the horse with his hat. Old West-style adventure. While on the Rush division, and T&D ofwesternart.com. Learn more about cattle- ond come-from-behind sprint, giving his The winners here take home some Red Steagall wagon train, she was handed Farms and Bad Company man Charles Goodnight at the Charles outfit a qualifying time by a nose. prize money and fancy belt buckles. As the reins of the mules when the driver go neck-and-neck in the Goodnight Historical Center in Goodnight Organizer Moon Swanson has added the wagon wheels fly by, I like to think she was riding with hopped off to help an Buckboard division. (part of the Armstrong County Museum), bronc fanning, team roping, and cow- this newest incarnation of chuck-wagon overturned wagon. www.armstrongcountymuseum.com.

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